Floor rotation exercise device

ABSTRACT

A bowl section is connected to a support ring, which has a plurality of wheels attached to its lower surface. A user may put his or her feet into the bowl section and move the entire device for exercise. The device moves along the floor or other surface using its plurality of wheels. Resistance may be increased by changing the resistance of the wheels, adding weights to the device, filling a hollow portion of the support ring with water or sand, or attaching an elastic resistance band to the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation depicting a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation depicting a top view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation depicting a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation depicting a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation depicting a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the exercise device 100 includes a support ring 101, a bowl 102, and a plurality of wheels 103.

Many exercises involve equipment that helps or allows freedom of movement of certain parts of the body to isolate certain muscles or muscle groups. Exercise equipment is often costly or takes up a substantial amount of space. It is thus desirable to have a single piece of exercise equipment that offers a large range of modes of use, so that it can be used on many different muscle groups.

The present invention addresses this problem by providing a versatile exercise device that can be used in many different exercises but requires only a small amount of storage space.

One preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. This embodiment includes a bowl 102, a ring 101, and wheels 103. The wheels 103 are attached to the underside of ring 101 and are positioned around ring 101 to provide support. Three wheels 103 are shown in FIG. 1, but the device may include any number of wheels (though at least three wheels are desirable for stability). Optimally, the wheels 103 are positioned equidistant from one another on ring 101 for optimal movement, but other embodiments are possible as needed.

Ring 101 may be made of any rigid material, such as plastic (ABS, HDPE, LDPE, or similar), metal, or any other suitable rigid material. Ring 101 may be solid or at least partially hollow; if portions (or the whole) of ring 101 are hollow, it may be filled with sand, water, weights, or other material to increase the mass of the ring 101 (and thus increase resistance of the entire device for exercising). Alternatively, ring 101 might include hooks or other fasteners to allow a user to attach weights to the embodiment for the same purpose. In some embodiments, ring 101 may be cushioned, including without limitation upholstery, durable soft foam, disposable foam covers, or other alternatives as suits the needs of a particular embodiment.

Bowl 102 may be made of a rigid material, such as stainless steel, aluminum, plastic, or other rigid material. Alternatively, bowl 102 may be made of a non-rigid material such as cloth, nylon, mesh, or rubber, with padding added to bowl 102 if desired. Bowl 102 could also take a variety of shapes, including regular geometric shapes (hemisphere, cone, square, etc.) or irregular shapes (two cup shapes for accepting the user's feet). The term “bowl” is used for reference to the component of the invention and is not intended to limit the shape of any embodiment.

Wheels 103 may be any sort of wheel, though the optimal embodiment would use casters that may rotate around their stems allowing the embodiment to be moved in alternating or different directions easily. Depending on the embodiment, the wheels may take on a number of forms, or arrangements. Greater stability may be achieved may positioned the wheels 103 radially further for the center of the device, using more wheels 103, using larger wheels 103, or using locking casters for some exercises that so require. Wheels 103 include stems; in some embodiments these stems may be of adjustable length to modify the difficulty of a particular exercise. Alternatively, a caster having adjustable resistance may be used to allow the user to increase or decrease the difficulty of moving the embodiment.

A user of the embodiment of 102 may place their feet in bowl 102, allowing them to move their lower body freely using the wheels 103. For example, a user might assume a typical “push-up” position and place their feet in bowl 102, and then the user could exercise their lower body by moving the embodiment with their legs.

A top view of another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. The ring 101 and bowl 102 in FIG. 2 are substantially similar to the ring 101 and bowl 102 in FIG. 1. The embodiment of FIG. 2 also includes two handles 201 that are affixed to the outside of ring 101. Such handles 201 may allow a user to hold on to the embodiment with his or her hands and exercise their upper body, for example, or the user might sit on the embodiment and use the handles 201 to stabilize themselves. The placement and number of handles is variable depending on the needs of an embodiment. In some embodiments, the handles are detachable, so that a single device may be configured by the user for exercises that require handles at some times and configured by the user for exercises that do not require handles at others.

A side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 is depicted in FIG. 3, showing ring 101, bowl 102, and wheels 103.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in side view in FIG. 4. The embodiment of FIG. 4 includes, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, a ring 101, bowl 102, and wheels 103. The embodiment of FIG. 4 includes a removable lid 401 that covers bowl 102 and provides a flat surface on the upper surface of the embodiment. This may be used to increase or decrease the difficulty of an exercise, or it may be used to provide a seat surface for the user. The lid 401 may also be covered at least partially by a rough surface for providing frictional engagement. Lid 401 is depicted in FIG. 4 as fitting over and around the entire ring 101, but it could alternatively attach to the top of ring 101 or it could fit over bowl 102 within ring 101.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the invention includes attachment elements 504 to attach the ring 101 and the base 501 to cord 503. Cord 503 may be a rope, chain, elastic band, or other type of cord depending on the needs of the specific embodiment. A cord of fixed length allows the user to move the embodiment in a fixed circular path (whose radius is defined by the length of cord 503). A cord 503 of variable length, such as a resistance band or elastic band, may be used to allow exercise motions that provide increasing resistance as the ring 101 is moved further from base 501. Base 501 optionally includes one or more handles 502 for certain exercises. For example, a user may hold on to handles 502 in a push-up position, place their feet in bowl 102, and use their abdominal muscles to move the ring/bowl portion with their feet. Base 501 may be attached to the floor, such as with bolts, or its movement relative to the floor may simply be restricted, such as by adding weights to base 501 or by creating a high-friction surface on the bottom of base 501. Base 501 may be padded, in part or entirely, providing a comfortable surface for the user to rest their hands, elbows, or other parts on. Handles 502 may be adjustable in height or distance from each other, or may be removable entirely, depending on the embodiment.

Attachment elements 504 and cord 503 may any of a number of different types as appropriate. Attachment elements 504 may be hooks, carabiners, or other attachment methods depending on cord 503 and the particular embodiment.

In some embodiments, the invention's height may be adjusted relative to the floor. For example, each of wheels 103 may include an adjustable height leg, such that the wheels 103 may be disposed closer to or further from ring 101. If each wheel 103 is adjustable individually, as in some embodiments, then the ring may be adjusted vertically or even tilted (such as by lengthening one or more, but not all, wheels 103) to allow for more variety in different exercises. The adjustable height leg may comprise concentric cylinders and a locking mechanism, so that lengthening the leg involve disposing the outer and inner cylinders further apart, and shortening the leg involves disposing the outer and inner cylinders with greater overlap. Alternatively, the adjustable height leg may be detachable from ring 101, such that spacers can be inserted between ring 101 and wheel 103, such that lengthening is accomplished by increasing the number of spacers (or using larger spacers) between ring 101 and wheels 103.

Alternatively, ring 101 may of adjustable thickness, allowing the top surface of ring 101 to have an adjustable height relative to the floor surface. For example, ring 101 may be comprised of two detachable ring sections, and spacers may be inserted to expand ring 101. In another embodiment, the adjustable height of ring 101is changed via one or more threaded rods, either central or at several points along ring 101.

In another embodiment, ring 101 may include a scissor lift component, either internal to ring 101 or between ring 101 and wheels 103. If the scissor lift is disposed internal to ring 101, then ring 101 comprises two sections with the scissor lift between them. In still another embodiment, wheels 103 may be attached to a platform which is attached to bowl 102 via an adjustable linkage, such as a threaded rod or a rod with pin-locking holes.

The above descriptions are only examples and are not intended to be limitations of the invention. 

I claim:
 1. An exercise device comprising; a support ring; a bowl section attached to the support ring; a plurality of wheels attached to the support ring; wherein the bowl section is capable of supporting at least one of a user's hands, a user's feet, or a user's torso; and wherein the device may be moved both linearly or rotationally about a fixed point.
 2. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wheels comprises at least 3 wheels.
 3. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the support ring is adjustable such that modifying at least one dimension of the support ring also modifies the distance between the bowl section and at least one of the plurality of wheels.
 4. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the bowl section is hemispherical in shape.
 5. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the bowl section is conical in shape.
 6. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the bowl section is a flat disc in shape.
 7. The exercise device of claim 1, further comprising a lid section that is capable of attachment to the support ring, such that the lid section forms a flat surface over the bowl section when so attached.
 8. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of wheels is a caster wheel.
 9. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the wheels further comprises a resistance brake, wherein the resistance break is adjustable and is adapted to provide adjustable resistance to rolling.
 10. The exercise device of claim 1, further comprising a base section coupled to the support ring by a cord; wherein the base section is anchored relative to the support ring.
 11. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the base section is fixedly anchored to the floor.
 12. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the base section is anchored with weights to restrict movement relative to the floor.
 13. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the cord is an elastic band.
 14. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the base section and support ring are each attached to the cord by a carabiner.
 15. The exercise device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of weights selectively attached to the support ring.
 16. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the bowl section is made of rigid material.
 17. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein the bowl section is made of elastic material.
 18. The exercise device of claim 1 wherein at least one wheel is attached to the ring with an adjustable length leg.
 19. The exercise device of claim 18, wherein the adjustable length leg comprises at least one spacer, wherein the number of spacers in adjustable length leg may be changed.
 20. The exercise device of claim 18, wherein the adjustable length leg comprises at least one longitudinally adjustable cylinder, and further the length of the longitudinally adjustable cylinder is fixed using a pin. 